How Jerry Ghionis Captured Vision For Bride and Groom Portrait In-Camera
August 25, 2015
“I’m so excited to share one of my favorite images of recent times, of bride and groom Sara and Steve, simple but striking and achieved in-camera,” says wedding photographer Jerry Ghionis, who placed first with this image in the Bride and Groom Together category at WPPI this past March.
“I certainly use Photoshop to enhance my images but I prefer what I call (invisible) Photoshop (as in what was done in post production is not evident). In this way the result is far more timeless and void of distracting elements that will almost certainly date a photo.”
Photo © Jerry Ghionis
Ghionis says that during the shoot, he had walked past Sara’s house and noticed a simple reflection of the white overcast sky against a silhouette of groom Steve, who was walking next to him. “I could see through the silhouette of the groom and into the house and wondered, ‘How cool would it be to have the bride’s face montaged and merged into the groom’s face? It would be a perfect metaphor of when two people become one.
“I asked the groom to stand in front of the window as I squatted down to see if I could get his clean silhouette against the overcast sky. The trees behind us were in my frame but I wanted to remove the distraction. Once you remove context from a shot, you enhance the mystery.
“The groom needed to be higher off the ground so we found a little step ladder for him to stand on. All I needed to do was direct the bride, who was inside the house, and position her within the groom’s profile.
“Without a beautiful expression from the bride, the result would simply be a clever shot, but I needed something more,” Ghionis sums up. “I asked the bride to say ‘I love you’ to the groom with her eyes. Her expression was perfect. You clearly see the love and respect that Sara has for Steve.”
THE SHOT
Camera: Nikon D4s
Lens: 70-200mm VRII
Focal length: 195mm
Exposure: f/4.0 at 1/320
ISO: 320
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